The You Can Play initiative started by the Burke family has a simple message that should resonate with everyone who hears it: if you can play, you can play. In hockey, nothing else should matter, and they have created a number of PSAs with NHL stars stating that this is the case. According to these videos, the only thing that matters is how well you play the game. Race, country, and creed don’t matter and, most importantly for the Burke family, neither does sexual orientation.

Ryan Kesler has now joined the lengthy list of NHL stars lending their names to the You Can Play initiative, speaking up for those who may fear speaking up for themselves. He appears in a PSA with former Canuck Tanner Glass and former pain-in-the-Canuck Dustin Byfuglien.

Maybe it’s the fact that Ryan Kesler’s had a little more time on his hands to learn this Twitter machine; maybe it’s that potential Canuck Owen Nolan is threatening Kesler’s default title as best Canuck tweeter by tweeting pictures of things he killed; or maybe it’s just the doldrums of August, when anything even remotely Canuck-related passes for solid gold. Whatever it is, Ryan Kesler’s Twitter account has really picked up of late. It’s actually become sort of interesting. Take, for example, yesterday’s interaction between Kesler and New York Jets’ center (and Sam Beam lookalike) Nick Mangold, who recently discovered the joys of interview bombing.

The Canucks announced today that Ryan Kesler underwent successful surgery to repair a labral tear that he suffered during game five of the Western Conference Final. You probably remember exactly what happened. Racing Dan Boyle for a puck, the entire lower half of Kesler’s torso exploded and his leg fell off. Then, he went to the dressing room, fashioned a new leg out of hockey sticks and tape, and returned, only to score the game-tying goal with thirteen seconds to go. Or at least that’s how fathers everywhere explained it to their kids.

Anyhow. Kesler’s recovery time is 10-12 weeks, meaning the Canucks will be without his services until November, at the earliest. (We’ll have more on what this means for Cody Hodgson later. But here’s a hint: his dark times may have passed. Again.) In the meantime, Kesler will have to spend a lot of time off his feet, which means he’ll have plenty of time to practice his tweeting.

On May 24th, 1994, Greg Adams scored in double overtime of Game 5 of the Western Conference Final to take the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final. Tonight, exactly 17 years later, Kevin Bieksa did the same. For only the third time in their 40-year history, the Vancouver Canucks are going to the Stanley Cup Final. After winning Round One in 7 games, Round Two in 6, and Round Three in 5, are the Canucks destined to sweep the Eastern Conference Champions? Is this the (Stanley Cup) Final Countdown? 7-6-5-4. It has a nice ring to it. But before we look to the future, let’s reminisce about the past. The recent past. The Canucks just won a hockey game. I watched this game.

By now, you’ve likely heard tale of the greatest fight that never happened, when Ryan Kesler refused Joe Thornton’s challenge to drop the gloves just prior to puck drop in Sunday’s Western Conference Final opener. It’s quite the story, especially since it’s somewhat unbelievable: Kesler’s never been known to back down from a fight, and Thornton’s never been that eager to get into one. The roles Thornton and Kesler claim to have played in this exchange seem relatively out of character for both.

But “Out of character” is the central phrase here. Both guys have worked tirelessly to remodel reputations as players who disappear in the playoffs, seemingly due to wholly opposite character flaws. Thornton, famously focused but dispassionate, has been hard at work to turn up the emotion in this postseason. Kesler, famously passionate but unfocused, is committed to a newfound composure. Now, one of them is on his way to his first ever Stanley Cup Final, and the victor will be the one that stays true to his new self.

When we last left Kyle Wellwood, he was happy. Why wouldn’t he be? Things are going swell for Welly. He’s expecting his first child; his experience in Russia taught him a newfound respect for his home continent, as he no longer has to contend with dogs for the best links of sausage; he’s fitting in [...]

This latest video from Canucks.com compiles a brief history of Kesler’s interview adventures, which we have covered previously. It’s odd, it’s off-putting, and it’s endearing. Quite frankly, I love it. For once, we’re seeing a slightly less serious side to Kesler, though he’s clearly still very serious about doing as many of these background excursions as possible. He also seems to find himself incredibly funny.
What’s it all about? Does he just think he’s hilarious? Is he desperate for attention? Is it a sneaky viral ad campaign for RK17? My theory is that the enforcement of maturity on-ice has led to an outburst of immaturity off-ice. He needs an outlet and, now that he can’t verbally assault the opposition, he visually assaults his teammates.

At least he kept his shirt on this time, but I feel he’s overcompensating. All we ask, Kesler, is that you wear the minimum amount of clothing required to buy Doritos at a Chevron. Luongo’s mask is overdoing it.

The opening goal of Friday night’s game versus the Blackhawks is scored when Christian Ehrhoff comes off the bench and immediately steps into a slapshot on the blueline. It beats Marty Turco cleanly. But here is something you might have missed: We see, in clip above, Ryan Kesler turn back to the bench, seemingly disinterested [...]

Canucks 6 – 0 Coyotes As a Canucks fan, it is thoroughly disorienting to cheer for the best team in the league. Cheering for the Canucks and cheering for the #1 team in the NHL is like serving both God and Mammon. It creates a kind of cognitive dissonance. Take tonight for example: the Western [...]

Even in an all-star game, Ryan Kesler takes his assistant captaincy seriously enough to question a call. Here’s Kes, mic’d up for Versus, asking referee Kevin Pollock about his decision to blow the whistle. The ref’s response? “Twenty bucks for the first guy that blew an offside.” Funny stuff. Hat tip to Sean Leahy at [...]

Every so often, we hear reports of a Ryan Kesler injury. It doesn’t matter what it is–a sore hand, a sore foot, a broken bone in either–regardless of the injury’s placement or severity, each article of this sort inevitably contains the sentence “Kesler will play.” The latest of these articles comes from the Province’s Ben [...]

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